Wings of Light
by AugustinianFrog
Summary: “What are you, an angel or demon?” Kerrigan spat.“What are you, Zerg or human? Are you the high empress overlord of the Zerg, the Queen of Blades or are you rather a great victim, a lost soul scattered to extraordinary distances?" FINISHED! R
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own StarCraft, named units or Characters. What Belongs to Blizzard render unto Blizzard.**

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_ The time has come, my brother in faith, and servant of the order. We have long watched the tragedy unfold before us, and you know well the tragedy I speak of. It continues to go on before us, beyond these few stars. At this point in time so much can be done, good and evil, pain and healing. Our Lord has spoken, and you are chosen. Go now to the one soul who can effect countless others. Take off the veil that hides us from their eyes and perception. In your revealing may they see revelation, may your wings of light illuminate a soul that hides in dark..._

Tranquility died exactly three minutes and twenty two seconds ago. It came back to life in isolated places. Three minutes and twenty two seconds ago, a battalion of Marines along with several siege tanks as well as two of the newer Crucio battle tanks were hit by a wave of lurker spines. Before the first marine could lift his gauss rifle, the ground exploded with zerglings and hydralisks. Ever since three minutes and twenty two seconds ago, marines and zergs started to die. In the roar of gunfire and exploding shells, the snarls of Zergs and the cries of men mingled with the screams of frustrated and panicked medics, several lingering souls found peace. On the ground, whether in an instant or in fleeting moments an ever growing number found darkness overtake them. In minutes, a group of drop ships arrived and quickly whisked away the surviving Terrans and assault tanks. Seething, the remaining Zerg let their wounds heal and scattered, lest another wave of Terrans come and exact revenge.

The whole ordeal was witnessed by silent phantoms. One was a lone Protoss observer, hidden in its cloaking device. The invisible eye trailed the Zerg. Within minutes a squad of Dark Templar would intercept them and the Zerg would be dashed to pieces by the warp blades of the hidden assassins. Some carried the older wristblades, while others sported the newer twin scythes.

Further away another silently listened to the minions go quiet, one by one. The Queen of Blades sat in her hive as the recently attacked Zerg army on the distant planet disappeared and became unreachable. They had died mysteriously but quickly, one at a time. She decided that meant Protoss were also in the area. Only the Dark Templar could kill Hydralisks and Zerglings that rapidly, without any of them ever being able to perceive for her what it was that killed them. Cloaked ships would have left missile or laser fire which her now dead servants would have been able to see, and for her to understand in her mind before they died. The Queen of Blades manipulated her mental powers over the nearest Zerg broods in the area. They had to prepare for cloaked enemies. More overlords, the lesser rulers of the broods with their sensitive antennae would be needed to sniff out those hated Dark Templar.

The Queen of Blades, empress of the Zerg sat back on her throne of lightly pulsating flesh. Even the habitations of the Zerg race were living organisms, buildings of flesh, blood and bone rapidly evolved and nurtured to be shelters for other living creatures. The high queen contemplated what would be needed to forward her operations but then left it to the cerebrates, lesser rulers of the Zerg, below her. She was the central mind behind a species of countless billions, if not trillions of ravenous creatures, all rapidly mutating, evolving towards a single goal: utter domination. The Queen of Blades regarded the darkness before her and sat in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

_Go now fellow servant and brother. The time is now. You are sent among the jaws of nightmares. May the light you reflect be pure and may the darkness be parted. Only one thing you must keep, and betray no information withheld from others. Let the others betray themselves, and not you. Our Lord go with you and may you return safe..._

The darkness was consuming. The Queen of the Zerg continued in her mental routine of giving all the numerous orders, sent out first to her cerebrates and then occasionally micromanaging smaller squads of lesser minions. On that one planet she wanted that Dark Templar band eliminated. She also knew that she now had to be wary of any more Protoss intrusions on those operations. All the better if the Protoss and the Terrans started killing each other. The last thing she would need was even a single wing of those new Protoss space fighters they've been sporting, going by the name of Phoenix starfighters. Even the summoning of an Archon, the burning spirit of Psionic energy that embodied the brute fury of energy of the Protoss, would be problimatic. Her hive there would need more Hydralisks and perhaps an Ultralisk or two. The Queen of Blades suddenly stirred on her throne. Something had disturbed her. The matriarch of the swarm stepped from her place and walked through the lair.

The winding, open vessel of the lair steadily grew lighter. Instead of blood, open air flowed, allowing for her and her minions to pass. The only fluid the crept through this organic tube, other than the obvious mucus to keep the membranes moist, was the creep. The creep was perhaps one of the simplest but greatest marvels of Zerg evolution. The creep was a purplish fluid excreted by certain Zerg buildings, specifically the creep, sunken and spore colonies. To other beings, the creep could certainly be repulsive and disgusting, but otherwise a mere annoyance, something to be ignored and had little value, other than a distinct marker of nearby Zerg habitations. However, to the Zerg race, the creep nourished each Zerg, including the buildings. In a perverse way, it was the creep that helped the Zerg transform whole patches of land and space platforms into living organisms. The vile purple liquid was a kind of connective tissue that nurtured and proliferated the growing Zerg race, marking a pathway of its living space. Few Zerg buildings could live without it and deprived of it, many isolated habitation Zerg would simply starve, shrivel and die without the nurturing soup.

Stepping out into the light, wading in the mire that was the creep, the Queen surveyed her domain, hoping to catch a glimpse of the intruder. Its presence was growing stronger. Even her pawns could sense it. Spore colonies, their massive eyeballs able to pick out even the most faint of movements, strained and dilated their pupils. Nearby overlords wildly lashed their antennae in search of the trespasser. Tapping into the psionic link that connected all sentient Zerg, the Queen of Blades shushed her distressed minions. They all knew something was wrong so any upset could easily be taken care of. Besides, this was the very center of the Zerg swarm, countless billions of angry Zerg with snarling teeth and razor sharp claws and blades, not to mention bio-acid, were readily available. They did not know what or who the intruder was, but the Queen was certain it was just one being. If a single Protoss or Terran found itself in this location, it would probably do the smart thing and save the hive any trouble by killing itself. Whatever the being was, being right here in the center of the swarm meant it was simply living on borrowed time.

And to her amazement, the disturbing presence suddenly evaporated as mysteriously as it had appeared. Like the mist that came with the shadows and seemingly disappeared without any certain point, this same shadow of existence winked out of reality. Slightly annoyed, the Queen turned around and lightly stretched her skeletal, serrated bone wings on her back in annoyance. A small guard of her best Hydralisks joined her back on her return to her throne.

Back in the shadows of her lair, the Queen of Blades surveyed her seat of power. She was at the entrance, pleased with herself and the returning peace that came after the disturbance. She was about to dismiss her guard and return to her proper place when she stopped dead in her tracks. That elusive, annoying presence, that phantom of existence that lacked tangible, material form, was back and stronger than ever. Feeling it too, the Hydralisks snarled and flared their needled pouches, ready to unleash a volley of devastating spines. Then, as if in jest, it was gone again. The Queen growled in annoyance and ascended the living steps towards her throne. She stopped when the room was suddenly bathed in radiant light.

Alarmed, the Queen's blade like claws unsheathed from her hands, her bone wings flaring outwards. Behind her, the Hydralisks roared at being surprised and readied themselves, each becoming five hundred pounds of ticked off muscled fury. Their tormentor was a beacon of bright light hovering above the throne of the Queen. The source of the light grew larger and their pupils grew accustomed to the sudden illumination. Suddenly, they saw what it was. Hovering in the air, just above the Queen was a black robed Terran with what seemed like two wings of pure light coming from his back. He stared down at the Queen of Zerg before him.

"I have come to speak with you, Queen of Blades." the Terran announced, the purpose in his voice echoing in the room. Enraged with the sudden intrusion, especially above her throne, the seat of her power, the Queen only needed to think one command.

"_Kill him_." the thought immediately shot through the psionic link to her Hydralisks, who roared in response, their open pouches of spines flaring open, ready to shoot. What the Terran, through rather unlike any other they had seen before, said next almost assured his sudden death.

"Or should I say, Sarah Kerrigan?" The Queen paused and responded just as the first spines from the Hydralisks became airborne.

"Die!" she screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

_My Brother in faith, how quickly do you want to die? There are many reasons we can be assured why you were chosen. You are daring and tenacious, you do not turn down a task given. However, your arrivals are unorthodox as your methods. I advise you, do not upset them too much, or your mission will be lost before it even begins..._

The Queen of Blades stared at the blasphemer, for surely that is exactly what he was for calling her by that. She had long since forsaken that name, and this intruder, whatever he was, had no right to even speak it. How the mysterious Terran got that information was of no concern now. He would be dead in moments. The Hydralisks' needle spines blasted on their deadly path and nearly hit their intended target. That's when things went wrong. Out of nowhere, a matrix like sphere of the same brilliant light enclosed the trespasser and the spines simply evaporated on contact. The sphere resembled the powerful energy fields of the Protoss. Glancing at her enemy quickly, the Queen noticed metallic wristbands on the man's arm, similar to the energy blades carried by Protoss zealots and some of the older Dark Templar. To top the list of surprises, his brilliant white energy shield had not been exhausted yet and showed no sign of blowing out. The Hydralisks had already fired enough spines to burn out the shield of a carrier or even an Archon and yet his still held. That's when the Queen of Blades realized the Terran was yelling something.

"This is the last time I will warn you to desist. I will resort to drastic measures if this continues..." His wings of light were draped protectively around him despite his energy shield going on as strong as ever.

_"Hydralisks, keep firing." _the Queen ordered her monsters through her psionic powers. She suddenly realized she lost contact with one. Her head darted back to following this man of light and realized what had happened to said Hydralisk. It was lying dead on the membranes of the lair, its head lying away from its body, taken off by an energy blade.

Not even a Dark Templar could do this much damage this quickly. Soaring menacingly on his wings of light, the wristbands each emitting an obviously deadly blade of radiant white, they seemed to gently pass over each Hydralisk and each in contrast fell violently as if hit dead on by the shock cannon rounds of a Terran siege tank. They were dead before they landed on the ground. When the last Hydralisk fell, its heart ruptured in an instant, the Queen of Blades readied her deadly claws and serrated edges of her bone wings. Instead, the stranger dropped, his wings disappeared as when a light is turned off, and his blades likewise dissipated.

"Stop. I did not come here for violence." the man said, holding a hand up. The Queen of Blades' answer was harsh, fitting with her warped voice that ceased to have the clarity of humans.

"Then what did you come for, you fool?" she snarled, each and every single jagged claw point menacingly aimed at the prey in front of her.

"What I came for...you shall find out in time." the man answered cryptically.

"You shall be dead before you can take another step."

"Queen of Zerg, I don't believe you understand what you're dealing with. I am no typical Terran, and if you think I am similar to the Protoss, you are sorely mistaken." the stranger answered quietly.

"So many of my enemies said the same thing. They're all dead now." the Zerg empress growled.

"Many, but not all. But to prove my point..." in a single motion, one of his arm blades fired and swiped at the wall of the lair. The reaction to that was decisive.

The organ that made up the lair shuddered violently and an anguished roar was heard throughout the the lair. The Queen of Blades understood that noise. It was unbelievable, but could not be denied. In that single blade stroke, the organism that made up her massive throne room and lair nearly died as if its very life force was in jeopardy.

"I could have very easily made that mortal as well. You will have to put up with me for some time. Do not get any ideas, for I can even hear your very thoughts, including the ones to call up the banelings." the intruder stated. The Queen stopped, stunned that he had heard her psionic call to the very creatures he had mentioned. She called off her suicide warriors and stared, a snarl etched on her face.

"Who are you?" the Queen of Blades spat. The man started to walk away from her to exit the lair.

"I can be a bringer of life. I can be an angel of death. I can help to illuminate the darkest night and drive the shadows away. I can scatter all thought and confound the wisest of sages. You may simply call me Nataphos. Nataphos Moset." and with that, he left her in darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades sat in silence, hidden in her lair. The all prevailing darkness was as thick as her concentration at the moment. She was only briefly, and barely, interrupted when she sensed the return of Nataphos from wherever he had disappeared off to. She had more important matters to attend to at hand.

Silently, Nataphos understood that the Queen of Zerg before him was mentally set on something. Focusing, the robed man closed his eyes and followed her psionic link. In his mind eye, he found himself in a dry canyon. Five ultralisks, the massive behemoths of the Zerg, raced with their massive kaiser blades charging towards a small group of Protoss enemies. The problem was that they looked slightly different. They had not run into these Protoss soldiers before. Three spidery contraptions seemed to resemble the Protoss dragoons while a massive tower that walked on spindly legs stood behind them. The Queen of Blades may never had seen them before, but Nataphos immediately knew what they were.

The three Protoss "spiders" were in fact dragoons reincarnated into a newer form, the newly deemed Immortals. The tower was in fact an older Protoss war machine that they had brought back from seclusion, the Colossus. The ultralisks slammed against the Immortals and swung their enormous blades, capable of cutting through neosteel, the blades bounced almost harmlessly off the Immortal's shields, which seemed to be slightly different than normal. The Zerg could not have known this either, but the Immortals were upgraded with a shield that would protect them from heavy attacks, leaving them vulnerable to smaller weaponry. The ultralisks didn't stand a chance. The Immortals hammered them with their massive twin phase cannons while the Colossus rained unrelenting thermal lasers on the ultralisks. Nataphos' perception flickered with the Queens' as she started to focus away from the battle. The battle cries of the Immortals' echoed as the image faded. "Our cannons shall sing...I have known an eternity of war...we shall serve forever...I am the wrath of the Khala...glory is eternal..."

Kerrigan sighed and stepped off her throne, trying to process this new information. She only shot Nataphos an unhappy snarl. In his black robes, Nataphos tilted his head to a side and raised an eyebrow. He instead shot her an knowing smirk. The Queen of Blades could not help but for a fleeting moment wonder what he was thinking.

The Zerg Queen once again ventured out into the daylight. Around her were the creations of organs and towering mounds of flesh and membrane. Her minions around her were pinnacles of evolution, their armor able to withstand the rigors of space and extreme heat, even provide limited protection from Protoss psi blades and Terran chemical ballistic rounds. They resembled little if any of their former races, having been infested and mutated nearly beyond recognition. It boggled the mind to think that this organic evolutionary wonder all started and is linked with the simple Zerg worm, the small larvae that is the original form of any Zerg creature and closest resemble the original Zerg ancestor. The only thing to commend of the larvae are their hardiness, otherwise they're pretty harmless. However, on the simple command and proper coding of genetics, the most lowly larvae could be mutated into the most ferocious Ultralisk or Defiler.

"Let us start with a simple question." Nataphos voice interrupted Kerrigan's admiration of what she saw. She continued to drive her glare into him and shot him a look with her burning eyes. She refused to answer him.

_"I must find a way to silence him as quickly as possible." _she fumed mentally.

"The easiest way to do that would be to answer the questions I give you." Nataphos muttered. Kerrigan amplified her glare.

"Did you just read my mind? What are you? What is your race?" Kerrigan snarled. Nataphos noticed her claws extracting from her hand. He bowed slightly in respect before levitating a few inches off the ground, a mist of the brilliant light radiating around him.

"I am what you call Terran by genetics and species. My abilities are similar to the Protoss, and in some ways their reasoning is similar to my people. I am from a group of Terrans that separated long ago and found a distant world. What we found there allowed us to work with a power much more potent than the psionic power that Protoss, Zerg and Terrans are familiar with." Kerrigan was immediately intrigued.

"What is this power?"

"Answers come to those who seek, but often only in due time. Here is another question for you first to pursue: what is the meaning of life?" Nataphos asked, going into a meditative position while still levitating. Kerrigan audibly growled.

"What kind of question is that?"

"A very important one. It has been one that numerous sages, prophets, wise and holy men, scientists and philosophers have struggled with for years. Tell me, how does a sentient Zerg answer this question?" Nataphos inquired.

"To dominate." the Queen of Blades answered deftly and continued her review of her kingdom of flesh, fluid and toxins. Nataphos levitated by her side as she walked.

"If such is the proper answer, then indeed you are well on your way." Nataphos commented.

"What is this power you were speaking of? I am certain it is the same power you used to nearly kill the organ that is my lair." the Queen demanded.

"Patience, Queen of Blades. Your authority is not all encompassing and now you find yourself helpless with something you can not control." Nataphos responded, his eyes still closed and his body relaxed in its meditation. Infuriated, Kerrigan swung the blades of her bone wings at her target, hoping to shred him in one swipe. In a second, Nataphos' body flickered and suddenly appeared on her opposite side.

"The more you pursue violence, the longer this will continue. Answer calmly or simply think, and this shall be over quickly, I assure you." An angry growl was all he got. Tapping her mental link, the Queen of Blades summoned a small squad of twenty ravenous Zerglings, angry little beasts with vicious claws. They surrounded the floating Terran and angrily snapped and bit at him. Levitating out of their reach, Nataphos opened his eyes only slightly and looked Kerrigan in the eye. His own reflected he was not pleased by her reaction. Without warning, dim orbs of light radiated from the heads of each Zergling in an instant, so quick even a blink would have prevented someone from seeing it. No sooner had the light disappeared, each Zergling fell the the ground and became still. Kerrigan was impressed by what she saw. Their eyes had simply ruptured out of their heads while brain matter oozed from the open eye sockets.

"I am told that it isn't pleasant to have one's brain boil in its own skull. However, considering how many of these you have, this small lost of twenty is of little importance to you. It is also a way you answer the question of what is the meaning of life. What have you become, Sarah?" Nataphos asked, an ominous tone in his voice. Kerrigan hated him, especially for using her name.

"What are you, an angel or demon?" Kerrigan spat.

"What are you, Zerg or human? Are you the high empress overlord of the Zerg, the Queen of Blades or are you rather a great victim, a lost soul scattered to extraordinary distances? On these you must ponder for I will return tomorrow." with those final words, Nataphos immediately became invisible to her eyes. Only his presence and the echo of his questions continued to haunt her.


	5. Chapter 5

_Indeed my brother, she does think. Alas, I do feel that she is not devoting too much thought. I know your intentions. What you will speak, what you will ask, what you will do, shall shatter flesh and crumble bones. It will also bring hope to heal something more than a mind. Our Lord go with you..._

Kerrigan crossed her legs and tried to focus. Her minions had not run into anything new and so far everything had been quiet. It seemed that even the Terran and Protoss had calmed themselves. Perhaps the only thing that wasn't calm was right here in her lair. Nataphos' alien, subtle but distressing presence was still condemning all of them. To their dismay, he was nowhere to be seen, cloaked beyond detection again. Kerrigan closed her eyes and wondered where this was all going. She knew why most of her swarm were hidden away but where did Nataphos figure into all of this? Was he part of the mysterious race spoken of by the Protoss in legend?

"I assure you, I am not one of them. My people simply have not been encountered by either of your kind yet. They are cloaked as well as I usually am." Nataphos' said softly and Kerrigan nearly flinched, realizing he was talking scarcely a foot away from her, levitating in his usual meditative position.

"What have you returned for, pest?" the Queen of Blades growled, leaving her throne to walk away from him.

"Questions again, but mostly answers." Nataphos answered, levitating behind her.

"I would do anything to tear you to shreds."

"An answer I already knew. Tell me now, Queen of Blades, whether you wish it or not, you are still human. Why do you wish to be a Zerg? The power is within you to-"

"I am not longer human! I was reborn into something far greater, something far superior than even the most powerful Terran could ever be! That is why I am Zerg!" Kerrigan bellowed. Nataphos did not seemed fazed by the outburst. He seemed to think on her words for a moment.

"Most interesting answer. Now, an answer for you on your question. You asked what power it was that I am able to remain better hidden than even the most powerfully cloaked device, and how am I able to bring down powerful creatures with just the single swipe of my blade." Nataphos stated. Kerrigan was obviously interested, but did not show it. Instead, she simply became quiet and folded her arms across her chest, listening. The levitating man simply opened his palm and in a second, a gentle, translucent ball of light was floating in his hand.

"The Terran, Protoss and Zerg all exercise in varying degrees the powers of the body and mind. Terrans must integrate both body and mind since they are not strong physically compared to other creatures, and they are just yet starting to develop the mind, the use of psionic power." Nataphos' globe of light flickered from its form of a Terran marine and shifted into the likeness of a Protoss zealot.

"The Protoss depend more heavily on the mind. Even the lowliest of Protoss can boast a powerful use of the psionic power of the mind. This is even reflected in their advanced technology. Even death can be cheated once by them in the form of their Dragoon walkers." the light display now shifted in the form of a snarling hydralisk.

"Finally, your own Zerg. Your minions are nearly mindless, simply following the orders of the minds above them, and their minds in turn all are directed to you. Otherwise, their physiques outclass any of the other races by a large margin."

"Get to the point." Kerrigan deftly stated. Nataphos sighed and looked into the distance.

"Many years ago, my ancestors found a place to call their own, away from others and anything that could trouble them. They were all pious and devout in the belief of their Lord. All their descendants have been ever since. What they found at this place allowed them not only to commune better with our Lord, but to communicate with each other. Whole emotions, thoughts and memories could be shared between people in an instant. We could read and understand the motives, spirits and emotions of any other being at will. Those who became strong in it could read beings miles, even lightyears apart. At first, they thought they were simply exercising a function of the mind, a kind of advanced form of psionic power. Soon however, they realized they were exercising something more." Nataphos paused, his face set as if reminiscing, as if he had been there when it all happened.

"What was it?" Kerrigan asked, intrigued.

"The soul." Nataphos responded. Kerrigan remained silent.

"Each living being has a soul, a life force. That was how we were able to read even the souls from so far away, how we knew of the Terrans, Protoss and Zerg even before any of you ran into each other. We knew your histories, strengths, weaknesses, wars and intrigues. It is through the mystical use of the soul that we are able to bypass the physical and mental, manipulate it to our responsible use, and in extreme situations, unshackle a soul from its physical vessel." Kerrigan continued to stare at him, even the segmented stalks that made up what was her hair was still.

"However, to do that, to kill and release a soul to eternity is not done lightly. Life is precious, and dealing with souls carries great responsibility. Although we deem the evolutionary creations of the Zerg abominations, they are still souls to be respected. However, the time has come, for our Lord has bidden us. I am sent to teach you something. You had best follow." Nataphos announced and levitated out of the lair. Defiantly, Kerrigan remained inside. Who was she, the Queen of the most powerful race in the galaxy, to follow him? She had just barely thought that when she suddenly found herself standing outside the lair.

"Teleportation of other entities is another use. You do not follow instructions very well. Normally I would not care, but this you must see." Nataphos stated, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Kerrigan glared at him.

"Make this quick, or I swear, I will send my entire swarm after you." she threatened.

"I am sure that is no idle threat, though it would be pointless. Perhaps the Queen of Blades has forgotten what can happen when something goes wrong in the body, mind...or soul." Nataphos stated. Kerrigan simply turned her back to him and walked towards the lair. She had better things to do than this. That was when she heard the sound of his wristblades igniting. Slowly, she turned around. Nataphos reached down, evaporated a small patch of the creep with one of the brilliant blades of mystical energy, and picked up a pinch of dust from the ground. The thick fluid of the creep refilled the empty space while Nataphos' blades disengaged. Instead, Kerrigan noticed the grains of dust starting to float and change in Nataphos' hand, being bathed with the white energy. Still levitating above the creep, Nataphos knelt on one knee and blew the changed particles from his hand.

"Very soon, all what you see will be changed. You and your minions will understand fully when the mind and body are sickened. Hopefully then, you will be able to understand the full ramifications of a sick soul. The sooner you leave this place, the longer you will put off the inevitable." with that, Nataphos once again winked out of existence, only the whisper of his presence still suggesting he was around. The Queen of Blades did not have a chance to demand what he had just done. She decided to ignore it and once again turned to revisit her lair. Before she returned into the darkness, she thought she saw a movement in the corner of her eye. All what was there was the typical, pulsating mound of flesh that was a Zerg Greater Spire. Had it just...twitched a little more violently than usual?


	6. Chapter 6

_What shall happen next my servant and brother, will paint a most vivid picture to the Queen of Blades. May it be used for good and not evil..._

Kerrigan was glad that Nataphos did not show himself. She would have torn and clawed him on the spot he stood on if he revealed his location. It did not help that his presence still whispered to her every now and then. She had much, much greater problems than to deal with that jester of philosophy, that enlightened mocker. In just two hours after Nataphos disappeared, the Queen of Blades realized what he had unleashed upon her kingdom. Outside her lair, a plague raged, tearing havoc on the city of flesh and fluid. Her minions and buildings were dying in the most heinous ways. Her active broods staggered in mild confusion as some lost their mental links to the rest of the swarm, allowing their hunter-killer minds to take over. Her own body was in torment as open, bleeding sores broke out on her flesh, tattering her body into agony. Her brain boiled with fever while her lungs were scorched like an inferno as she coughed up corrupted sputum. She screamed, as best she could, in rage.

Suddenly, other than Nataphos, here was an enemy raging open war against them and there was nothing she could do. It must have traveled through the creep, quickly infecting each and every Zerg building. The diseased hatcheries, hives and lairs hatched infected Zerg creatures. Inside them, the plague, whatever it was, became airborne. It seemed to have a particularly devastating effect upon the evolution chambers of the Zerg species, the darkened, corrupted corpses of the chambers collapsed in death within a few scarce hours of being infected. By the time the plague was recognized, the Queen of Blades had few evolution chambers on hand to try and mutate an immunity. All experiments failed and the last evolution chamber died quickly after. A tormented part of her mind suspected that whatever this plague was, it was specifically made to hunt out a single genome: that of the Zerg.

Unknown to her, Nataphos walked through her kingdom, surveying the wreckage. He was no longer hiding in the shadows, his form visible to all. None of the Zerg thought to report his presence. Their minds were just as bad as the vile, blackish creep that sludged the ground, no longer as fluid as it used to be. The corrupted black ooze was little comfort to the dying creatures and buildings that literally drowned in it during their final moments. The retrovirus that did this had only one purpose: to target and destroy the genetic profile that made up all Zerg. Its visible effects were sickening to watch. The buildings sunk in on themselves, their protective membranes giving away. Defiler mounds and Ultralisk caverns, the home of not only the vicious creatures but toxic and radioactive materials, sloughed away. In turn, their harmful contents reacted on the nearby Zerg creatures who were no longer immune to the deleterious effects. Zerglings writhed in pain as their flesh gave way and their organs died within their bodies long before their overworked hearts finally decided to stop. Defilers were eaten alive, albeit slowly, by the virus as well as by the parasites and corrosive materials their bodies housed. Hydralisks collapsed and bled out, spreading greenish, vile blood while numerous cancers ravaged their broken bodies. The mutalisks fell out of the skies, their bodies ravaged by the very parasite they carried as weapons. Devouers and Guardians had their stomachs eaten out by the acids they carried, the corrosive contents raining down on their fellow Zergs, aggravating their already mind blowing agony. The doomed flying beasts lingered on until the virus hit their hearts before falling out of the sky and crashing into the ground.

The overlords suffered a different strain of the plague. The retrovirus attacked their minds. The few minions under their control who were not completely incapacitated by the virus displayed symptoms of schizophrenia, bi-polarism, heightened aggression, dementia and a host of other mental disorders. These added to their sufferings, the overlords victims of the various mental diseases themselves before they finally collapsed and decayed in the already diseased soup of misery.

Nataphos levitated over the hellish sludge, inspecting what he saw. Salivating vile red and black secretions, an Ultralisk hobbled over to him, intent on slicing him in half with its kaiser blades. In its diseased mind, it poorly coordinated the use of its blade and disemboweled an already mindless low flying overlord. Nataphos simply ignited one of his blades from his metallic wristbands and plunged it into the monster's head. It collapsed with a heavy boom, splaying the black sludge everywhere. Disgusted, Nataphos simply radiated the white energy and burnt off every atom of the vile fluid.

The prophet and philosopher continued his grim trek through the kingdom. A dying queen fell out of the sky and landed next to him, gasping violently in its dying breaths. It aborted a deformed and pale broodling before dying in a catastrophic death rattle. Next to him, a Hydralisk growled weakly as it laid on the ground. Some of its flesh had simply fell or rotted off in large patches all over its body, revealing in some parts it skeleton or diseased organ systems. One eye had already rotted away while its once dangerous needle spines had now impaled its own internal system. It growled weakly again at Nataphos, having watched him slay the Ultralisk. Nataphos knelt down and regarded the creature.

"You have killed in war twenty four marines of the Dominion. Eighteen were once convicts. The other five were volunteers. One of the volunteers was a father of three and proper husband. When he died, the family fell into poverty and now live in suffering. Another four Protoss zealots have died by you in hope to gain back their homeworld. The souls of the Terrans have gone to eternity, the Protoss to the Khala. Your weaker soul will not survive, you have only this mortal existence. Continue now to drink from your now most bitter cup of life, for only oblivion awaits you." Nataphos judged before walking away.

The prophet regarded the kingdom of death around him and heard the souls of the Zerg around him disintegrate. One soul, stronger than the others, screamed now physically as it had done for a much longer time mystically. He would have to visit that one tomorrow. In the meantime, he was forced to marvel at the utter destruction caused by something so small before him. Nataphos could not help but describe what he saw by quoting something written by an ancientTerran so long ago.

_"I am the way into the city of woe. I am the way to a forsaken people. I am the way into eternal sorrow. Sacred justice moved my architect. I was raised here by divine omnipotence, primordial love and ultimate intellect. Only those elements time cannot wear were made before me and beyond time I stand. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." _


	7. Chapter 7

_The time approaches my comrade. Soon the Queen of Blades must see the revelation for herself. The blade that is truth must wield radical surgery, but will this soul perish in its hour of reckoning? Our Lord go with you and His wisdom..._

The Queen of Blades stood in her lair, defiant of the plague that racked her body and her very own kingdom. The festering sores and wounds were becoming infected and she started to realize she was feeling a numbness swelling through her. Still, she would not be broken. Yes, she cringed in pain but she would not double over, she would not be brought down by this virus. So great was her determination mingled with anger that she almost did not notice a sudden flash of light before her.

"Yes Sarah, you have always been a strong in determination. Alas, your efforts are in vain, for this virus is only killing the Zerg in you. It has no clue what to do with your human genome." Nataphos informed, reading her thoughts. Kerrigan could not believe she was doing this, but the sudden shock of his arrival seemed to be too much. She felt a surge of anger but started to double up in pain.

"Rest, you will need it." Nataphos said softly.

"You said you could be a bringer of life...all you have done...is destroy..." Kerrigan growled in agony.

"Let me ask you something, Sarah-"

"Stop calling me that!" the Queen of Blades snarled, and then groaned loudly in pained, holding her abdomen that seemed to be on fire.

"As I was saying, today I will give more answers, but do not expect everything to be spelled out. There will be more puzzles and how you answer will determine how all the pieces fall, if only but for a moment." Nataphos continued. Kerrigan just glared venomously at him. The levitating prophet sighed.

"What you see here are the effects of a diseased body and mind. Now let me show you what a diseased soul can do. I will be merciful, you will need every ounce of energy to concentrate on what I must show you." that spoken, Nataphos clasped his hands and the same white energy radiated dimly from them. Within moments, Kerrigan felt the pain subside and watched in amazement as the sores and wounds on her body faded and healed. Her fever evaporated and her breathing became normal. Kerrigan stood still, her body whole again. She wasn't quite sure what to suspect, and even if every ounce of her being still wanted to kill this man, her more calculating side told her that it probably would not have good consequences.

"Yes, restraint is a virtue." Nataphos chuckled. Kerrigan watched as the man placed his open palm in front of him as if to keep her at a distance. She understood the gesture as the lair suddenly became bathed in radiant white light. It seemed to soak in even the very pores of her body until it was as if even Nataphos was consumed in light. Instead, she only heard his voice.

"Let us go back. Let us return to a time some decades before. Twenty two years, three months, eleven days, four hours, thirty seven minutes and seven seconds from the present."

The light dimmed just a little, like on a brilliant summer day. The lair was gone. Instead, Kerrigan found herself in a familiar facility, one that had been built by the Terrans. The room was nicely furbished. However, she felt that something was not right. No, all was not well.

"Do you remember this place?" Nataphos asked.

"This...this is where they tested me...when I was younger..." Kerrigan answered in her harsh, Zerg infested voice.

"Yes. It was here, under the watchful eyes of the Confederate government that it was discovered you had unusually high psionic powers. All before this time, you lived a quiet, normal, happy life as a typical child under the Confederate government. You were eight at the time, perhaps the only happy years you ever had." Nataphos reminded her.

"Who are you, to judge that?" Kerrigan demanded. She suddenly felt her throat tighten, hampering her ability to speak. Nataphos was suddenly glaring at her with a warning look in his eye.

"For once Sarah, I must ask you to be silent. Do not make me do this, as I would rather respect you and not treat you like an animal to be beaten into submission. Please, just listen." Nataphos reprimanded, and the weight from her throat lifted. The mysterious seer continued.

"This is unfortunately where all the joy you knew ends..." Suddenly, the memories flashed forward a bit. Kerrigan watched it as it all sped by in an instant, but every moment vivid as if it was happening right there before her. She remembered, in a fit of trauma, accidentally unleashing her psionic powers. The accident killed her mother instantly while crippling her father. That was all what the Confederacy needed. She was whisked away and drafted into the government Ghost program, the mysterious and dangerous special forces of the Terran regime, trained from children to be ruthless and covert soldiers.

"You were brought under the jurisdiction of Lieutenant Rumm, a Confederate soldier. It was this tormented soul working for a diseased system that first infected you. Against your will you were subjected to mental conditioning. It was under Rumm's hands that you were shattered from concepts of right and wrong, starting the mystical infection. The Lieutenant tortured you to break you for one year, two days, three hours, forty minutes and twelve seconds." Nataphos narrated. Kerrigan could not help but flinch at the exacting clarity that Nataphos knew the story, even better than she did. She saw herself in her old barracks as a teenager.

"You were left quiet and introverted. You accepted your lot in life and tried not to remember how this came about. You were a soldier now to a ruthless system. Your soul was hurt, but you did your best not to be broken. By this time, you had already taken two lives, enemies of the government you worked for. However, that would soon change..." again, the memories fast forward in the glow of the light.

"Again, more experimentation. The Confederacy learned that you could exercise some control over Zerg creatures. The government put this to good use, but during your stay at the station, the rebel group known as the Sons of Korhal rescued you and removed some of the nano-technology that was used to control you. The leader, Arcturus Mengsk, saw your potential, and made you a top lieutenant in the faction. Later on, in a mission Mengsk sent you on, you ran into your old superior, now Major Rumm. The silence of death could not come fast enough for him by your hands." Nataphos murmured. Kerrigan only stood in silence, remembering how it happened. Again, Nataphos was working forward in her history.

"Alas, your gruesome surgery could not contain the massive cancer that was spreading beyond all of you. Soon, after you met James Raynor, a noble soul if a bit rough on the edges, you were ordered by Mengsk to conduct a foolhardy mission. The snake that is Mengsk most cold heartedly employed the Zerg as a terror weapon against the Confederates. Protoss, though some corrupted by blinded politics, were perhaps the only smart ones in the whole ordeal. They tried to destroy the swarm, but you were sent to make sure they did not. Your nearly suicidal mission accomplished, Mengsk left you for dead on the planet with no way to escape. Raised by the Confederates, used by the Sons of Korhal, you were left to die with the Confederates who had scarred you, forsaken by the men who used you." Kerrigan watched that dreadful time in her life. Surrounded by the encroaching Zerg, she fired her canister rifle for all it was worth, panicked beyond belief. That's when she saw the needle spines enter her and she collapsed to the ground. The light blinded her vision again. The memories flashed forward quicker this time.

"Used by the Confederates who once tried to teach you there was no right or wrong, now you were assimilated into the swarm by the Overmind. You were created with only one purpose: to destroy. It was built into your genetics, but you still have your humanity. Alas, you ignored it." Nataphos stated, a hint of judgment in his voice. Suddenly, the memories shifted. She saw myriads upon myriads of figures before her, Terran and Protoss as well as a few Zerg, noticeably a few Cerebrates.

"These are the souls whose blood is on your hands. The number of beings whose death is your responsibility is now over trillions. Many were more noble than yourself." Kerrigan noticed the spidery form of a Protoss dragoon walk up to her, which suddenly shifted into a proper Protoss, confident and upright in a proper Protoss body. She recognized him as Fenix.

"Yes, the noble Fenix was one of them. Come, think of this Sarah. You were betrayed by Mengsk, tortured by Rumm. Now you are the source of torture for countless souls. Tell me, is it possible you are still being used by the Overmind, even though you claim total leadership as the Queen of Blades? Are you truly free, or are you somehow still fulfilling his twisted purpose?" Nataphos was not finished.

"You betrayed Zeratul and Raszagal, Dark Templar and Protoss whose wisdom you will never attain. The Cerebrates died because of your lust for power. Innocent Protoss fell before your swarm, their number too numerous to mention. You betrayed James Raynor, the only one who cared for you and saw you as a person. Edmund Duke died alongside Fenix at your hands while you went to betray Mengsk." Suddenly, Nataphos was right along side her, a judging whisper coming from him.

"The ancient Terrans once used to believe that the lowest level of hell was for those who were betrayers. Even now, are you simply being used by something larger? I shall moderate this, for the full extent would be too much for a single mortal to feel...only a human who was also divine could stand to feel the full brunt of this." Nataphos judged. Suddenly, Sarah felt it. Every emotion, amplified seemingly to infinity, ran through her. Despair, panic, anger, hatred, fear, helplessness, loss, betrayal, flowed through her. It seemed like her soul would be eaten away and she cried out as she fell to her knees.

"This is what they lost, Sarah..." Nataphos stated. In the most bitter contrast, happiness, duty, wisdom, honor, loyalty, forgiveness, trust, friendship and compassion flowed like the blood she had spilled on so many soils.

"And know, somewhere in that flood, one soul called James Raynor cared for you."

"...Make this...stop!" Sarah screamed.

"Not yet, Sarah. We're only halfway there."


	8. Chapter 8

_"My Servant and brother, our Lord guides you most wisely. The revelation is almost complete. Your other comrade tells me that his task is nearly as yours..."_

Doubled over by the emotional trauma levied against her, Sarah nearly wailed. Slowly, very hard to notice, the flood of emotions stopped. Kerrigan looked through her tears and found herself staring at the boot soles of Nataphos. The robed monk lifted her to her feet.

"You...bastard." Kerrigan spat.

"Considering the context of the situation, I can see why you believe I earned that. We're not done yet, Sarah." Nataphos stated, and suddenly flickered away from her, only to appear a distance away, levitating in his usual meditative pose. He started his rant again.

"Again the question is, what is the meaning of life?" the monk asked, as a mystical model of light displayed a enlarged model of DNA before her. Nataphos did not let her answer.

"You would do well to listen to the ancients of your Terran ancestors. Some said that all sought happiness. If such is the case, you state that dominion will bring you satisfaction, but shall it really? Do you wish to see all dead before your feet? Then why did you try to make more infested Terrans who were like you? Some stated enlightenment, something you have never thought of, and why should you? You were only taught to war ever since you were eight. Other said we are simply meant to survive. But look at your minions, they are not meant to survive. They are biologically engineered to kill. They are not like other animals that simply wish to live and reproduce. They are a perversion of nature, engineered to war, something no creature was meant to do. Another summed it up in two commandments, to love the God that created you with all your being, and to love your neighbor as you do yourself." Nataphos was suddenly inches from her face.

"Do you know what love is?" Nataphos demanded of her. Sarah struggled to speak. Nataphos cut her off.

"A very weak and limited understanding is all you have. Love is similar to compassion, similar to righteousness and all that is noble. It is one of few things that feeds the soul. Since it is not physical and transcends the mind, it is eternal, immortal. Some have gone so far to say, that it can conquer the grave. Oh Sarah, do you not feel the venom that courses through your veins? Do you not feel the acid that has been made your soul weary that it daily cries out so loud that I and my brethren heard it long before the sounds of the Brood war echoed in this galaxy?" Nataphos asked, and Sarah could have sworn she saw a hint of compassion in his eyes. The monk sighed, and floated towards her.

"Let me show you a few hints of what could have been...what could be..." Nataphos closed his eyes and the light became blinding again. She felt suddenly as if all this weight had been lifted off of her. She had no thought of war, hatred, even for those who had betrayed her. Was this...peace?

"Yes...it starts with forgiveness, Sarah. Wise were the men who said to turn the other cheek, and that an eye for an eye would leave the world blind. Shall the universe lose its sight? Sarah, I cannot teach you these things in a moment, they take years to develop and learn." the light dimmed again. Instead, she saw images. She saw children laughing and playing in open fields and she wondered where they were. She saw wise men and Protoss gathered in marble halls, contemplating vast mysteries and searching for truth and the spires of knowledge. She saw communities at peace, the art of war forgotten. Suddenly, she found herself alone. Only Nataphos' voiced echoed.

"Tell me Sarah, can the Zerg race, engineered only for war, do these things? When the last round is fired, what shall you have but a swarm of mindless beast with no purpose in life anymore and no way of learning another?" Suddenly, Nataphos stood before her and then rapidly faded into the light again.

"I said I can be a bringer of life. Behold what healing can do..." Sarah noticed nothing at first. She became confused until she felt something silky soft wrap around her. She looked down, realizing a cloth robe was drawn about her. Wisp of red threads came before her eyes. Sarah was startled by what she saw. The stalks on her head was gone, her original human hair, her long red hair, was back. Her skin was pink and smooth. Before her was a mirror and her original, human, feminine features were back. Her green eyes were bewildered and she suddenly felt something clamp around her leg. She looked down to see a small girl with the same hair color as hers. The young child called her mommy and smiled at her. She felt herself wrapped in strong but gentle arms and felt love and trust embrace her as a man called her his wife. It was all overwhelming, perfect and mind blowing and suddenly, it disappeared. She was back in the darkness of her lair. Nataphos floated before her, his brilliant white wing of light folded out, as if about to take flight. The angel of life, death and enlightenment stared at her. His eyes showed that this time he was leaving and would not return.

"The choice is yours. Choose wisely, for you only get one life, and so do those around you. If we meet again, may it be in better days, Sarah Kerrigan." Nataphos bowed his head, and suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. Sarah realized that she no longer felt his presence. The plague was gone, now only a decision was to be made, and it fell in her hands. Kerrigan looked at her open hands, returned now in the same that carried her claws. She remembered that she was the Queen of Blades.

* * *

_"Alas, my mentor, the Queen of Blades has chosen the path to war. She remembered her thirst for power. Her broods have gone into hiding, the few active only have a mission to find more to assimilate. She readies for another great war..."_

_"This is a loss my brother, but take heart. All is not lost. As all pieces of the puzzle must someday fall together, so does righteousness always change that which is evil, for it is eternal, and evil only a corruption. Our brother returns..."_

_"Blessings and peace. Do not be dismayed. Our Lord works in mysterious ways, even we do not understand. However, my mission, like Nataphos, is complete. Zeratul has the message that was to be given to him. Even now he goes to speak to the soul called James Raynor..."_

_"Praise innumerable. Now we can do nothing but wait and listen. Another war comes but peace must soon be on the horizon. Just as heaven as no wrath like love to hatred turned, so must hatred burn out, and love return. Come my brothers, let us wait, the revelation comes nigh, let us unfold our wings of light..."_


End file.
